No. 1 Stanford comes back to defeat No. 2 UCLA with two late goals

LOS ANGELES – No. 1 Stanford rallied past No. 2 UCLA 2-1 with goals by Chioma Ubogagu and Rachel Quon within 72 seconds of each other late in the second half at Drake Stadium on Sunday. This is the Cardinal's fourth consecutive Pac-12 women’s soccer title.

Stanford (16-1-1, 10-0 Pac 12) handed the nation’s only remaining unbeaten team its first loss and extended its conference winning streak to 41, the third-longest in Division I, and defeated the Bruins for the sixth consecutive time.

Quon scored the winner at 78:04 after moving into the central midfield from her defensive position in an effort to boost the attack when the Cardinal was pushing for the equalizer.

On the winning sequence, a high cross by Laura Liedle found Ubogagu on the left side. Quon took a short pass in the box, but her initial shot was blocked back to Ubogagu, who sent in another quick pass.

This time, Quon settled it with her right foot and swung with her left, pushing the ball across the face of the goal and inside the right post from 10 yards out. It was the second goal of the season for Quon and the fifth in her collegiate career.

Quon also factored in Ubogagu’s goal that tied the match at 76:52. With Ubogagu pushing the ball forward, Quon made a run off the left flank. Ubogagu then made a low left-footed shot inside the right post from 22 yards.

UCLA (15-1-2, 8-1-1) took the lead in the 49th minute by taking advantage of a Stanford defensive giveaway. A shot inside the box was blocked by Quon and went directly to Taylor Smith, who hit a right-footed shot inside the left post.

Stanford goalkeeper Emily Oliver made a diving two-handed deflection off a cutback shot by Chelsea Cline that could have tied the score. She also stopped a scoring chance by conference goal-scoring leader Zakiya Bywaters.